The question of measuring media bias is one that has generated no little controversy over both definitions – what constitutes “the media”? What is “bias” – and methodology – how do we measure bias? As you might expect, there is room for disagreement even among scholars. Groseclose’s study is is one of the better efforts to get a handle on this question, but even his methodology has been the subject of debate. I addressed this issue in several earlier posts dealing with media bias, so won’t belabor my points, but I think a substantial number of readers would agree with you that the coverage of national election is skewed. In that regard, for instance, a Pew study of coverage of the 2008 election showed more favorable coverage toward Obama than to McCain. But even here one has to ask: does this reflect the media’s political bias? Maybe the skew indicates that Obama was running a better than expected campaign? All a long way of saying that I am not confident that it is possible to define bias or identify it in a way that everyone will find acceptable.

]]>By: Dale Steinackerhttp://sites.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/2011/11/14/media-bias-the-debates-and-why-jon-huntsman-is-in-siberia/comment-page-1/#comment-21176
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:37:26 +0000http://sites.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/?p=10070#comment-21176I agree that the media is driven by the need to keep the audience so they focus on the candidates with the best chance of getting the nomination.
I disagree there is no skew. I think it is there and very strong.
In my college newspaper days (many years ago) I noticed the unquestioned and unquestionable assumptions we made.
My wife likes the Washington Post’s crossword and arts section so we get that daily.
I do not see balanced coverage there.
If you haven’t read it, I suggest Tim Groseclose’s “Left Turn”. I agree with his analysis about the impact of the media’s preferences, if not biases.
]]>By: Matthew Dickinsonhttp://sites.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/2011/11/14/media-bias-the-debates-and-why-jon-huntsman-is-in-siberia/comment-page-1/#comment-21175
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:14:23 +0000http://sites.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/?p=10070#comment-21175Will,

As I suggested in the post, I am generally skeptical of claims that media coverage at the national level skews left. In Bachmann’s case, I think there is a simpler explanation for why CBS anticipated giving her a lower debate profile – one rooted not in political bias but in the dictates of the news business. But in terms of individual preferences, there is strong, consistent evidence that journalists in the major national news outlets tend, on the whole, to possess political views more to the left of the viewing audience, and that this has been the case for several decades. This is subject to the usual caveats: how do we define ideology, what journalists are we talking about, etc. But there’s really not much debate over this. So, if we look at your measures of ideology, for instance, that same Pew study finds many more members of the general public describing themselves as conservative than do journalists. Similarly, we find that National Election Studies consistently show a greater proportion of the public classifying themselves as conservative than we see journalists in the category in the Pew study. so even by your own figures, journalists are clearly more liberal than the public. Now, that does not mean their coverage is necessarily slanted, which is the charge Republican often make. As I’ve blogged about before, that is a more difficult question to answer. But in terms of individual political views, the clear fact is that journalists on average tilt Left more than the public does.

]]>By: Will Mackhttp://sites.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/2011/11/14/media-bias-the-debates-and-why-jon-huntsman-is-in-siberia/comment-page-1/#comment-21173
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:43:13 +0000http://sites.middlebury.edu/presidentialpower/?p=10070#comment-21173I am sick and tired of hearing that people in the media “lean left.” The Pew survey shows that, among national journalists, the split is roughly 10% conservative, 33% liberal and 52% moderate. If anything, then, media people “lean moderate.”

And anyone who has worked in a newsroom for a long time, as I have, is hard put to identify the hardcore left-wing ideologues there that the right loves to whine about. Even those who say they are liberal or conservative are not deeply so and, being journalists,. always can see the other side.

I understand why Republicans need to demonize the media: it gives their followers something to hate, and it is an attempt to insulate GOp candidates from criticism. Herman Cain can mewl about his harsh treatment on the sex charges, all due to the liberal media, conveniently ignoring how the media trashed liberal icons Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Eliott Spitzer and Anthony Weiner. Please.